Posioned Leaves
by CuteOverload
Summary: Many, many years after the battle against The Dark Forest, the Clans are thriving. But a new threat has arrived. Cats from all Clans are being murdered by a strange enemy, and a young apprentice named Hailpaw finds himself caught up in the midst of it.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Greymask stalked through the long grass, trying hard to make no noise. The cool night air whipped at his sensitive ears, his sharp blue eyes scanned the area for any other cats. There were none. Greymask padded softly through the valley and into the trees, his dark pelt coated in rain and dew, he sniffed, a faint smell of cat came to his nostrils and he hastily turned the direction it was headed. The scent was becoming stronger and stronger as he hurried through the trees, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

He came to a halt as he saw a dark shape in one of the nearby oak trees. Moving swiftly, he made his way over to the tall tree, careful not to snap any twigs. The shape seemed to have heard him anyway, as it perked up and slivered down the oak quickly.

"Who's there?" The shape inquired, it had moved enough for Greymask to see it clearly, it was a dark grey tabby tom with jet black stripes that raked across its flank.

"Duskpelt." Greymask growled as he stepped out of the shadow of the oak tree. Duskpelt's yellow eyes narrowed.

"What is a RiverClan cat like you doing on ThunderClan's territory?" Duskpelt asked, scanning Greymask for any sign of suspicious behaviour. Greymask raised his head to look the cat directly in the eye.

"I think we both know why I'm here. Don't we?" Greymask hissed, his eyes icy. If Duskpelt was nervous he wasn't showing it, his face and body language only showed confusion, but Greymask had learned to look past that, and was ready for any tricks the cat would pull.

"I honestly don't have a clue why you're here. I suggest you tell me. Because medicine cat or not, you cannot go parading around on other Clan's territory." Duskpelt meowed, his eyes slits.

"Very well. I will inform you of what I am here for." Greymask mewed, "A long time ago, Duskpelt, you upset me greatly. You stole a cat away from me whom I loved. And tonight, I will have my revenge." Duskpelt's eyes widened.

"Who is that cat?!" He hissed, Greymask cocked his head in mock confusion.

"You don't know? Why, it is your mate of course, Honeyflower." He mewed quietly. Greymask saw Duskpelt's claws slide out.

"What?! You love Honeyflower?! You are a medicine cat, you cannot have a mate, especially not one in another Clan!" Duskpelt yowled, his ears pinned back.

"Well, you're acting like medicine cats cannot love. Oh, we try not to. But, my friend, you have no idea of what happens behind your back. Or indeed, what happens behind the Clans' backs." Greymask mused, his expression unreadable, his voice was mocking, "Now I'm afraid it's time for you to get exactly what you deserve." He hissed.

Greymask lunged at Duskpelt at a speed so great; the tabby barely had enough time to react. With a shriek Duskpelt felt his throat being bitten, it felt like he was being torn apart. Greymask ripped his neck, he felt it tear slowly. With a final gasp, Duskpelt's final breath and been breathed.

Greymask let go of the tom's dead body quickly, pausing to stare at his kill. It had been a messy one. Blood was pouring out of Duskpelt's neck wound at an alarming speed. Greymask examined the body, making sure the RiverClan scent on him had been completely covered up by the wild garlic he had rolled in before, and then making sure none of his fur had been left near the scene.

With a final sniff, Greymask turned around, his tail twitching cautiously as he padded away from the crime scene. Scanning the area for any witnesses, and making sure there were none, he let his pace turn to a run. He bounded back towards the lake. He had decided the best thing to do at this point was to simply swim across it to his camp, it would wash the blood from his pelt and get rid of that nasty garlic scent that clung to him.

As he paddled himself through the water, he let himself relax. Kill number one was over with. Now for the other three.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Hailpaw dashed through the trees, the scent of blood clinging to his frosty, white pelt. He could feel the enemy hot on his heels; he turned his head a tiny bit, to get a glimpse of his aggressor. It was a cat, though something was odd about its appearance.

For starters, it had no face, no eyes, mouth or nose, just a large dark shadow on its head. It was entirely black and it gave off a strange yowling sound as it ran. Hailpaw was so taken up by it's strange image, he didn't see the gorge coming up ahead, and with a strangled yowl, he dashed over the edge, the last thing he felt, was the flip his stomach made as he plummeted to his death.

Hailpaw woke with a jolt; he frantically glanced around the ShadowClan apprentice's den. The sleeping bodies of his denmates surrounded him, and he let out a shaky breath. The light of dawn was just streaming into his den, and the morning air was fresh.

After calming down, Hailpaw wondered what the dream had meant; finally concluding that it was just a nightmare. He picked himself up and stretched. It was going to be a long day today, it was his first day as a warrior apprentice and he needed all the energy he needed.

Hailpaw flinched when he heard a rustling behind him, only to relax when he saw the slight frame of his sister, Dogpaw getting out of her nest behind him.

"Morning, Hailpaw." She mewed cheerfully; he had never understood how she could be so wonderfully cheerful when she woke up. He nodded a greeting and motioned for her to follow him outside with his tail.

The two siblings padded outside and into the camp's view. Many cats were emerging from their dens and the place had a sort of sleepy haze surrounding it, Hailpaw had always hated mornings. Dogpaw purred in the sunlight and shook her thick black coat. The two cats had always looked nothing alike; Dogpaw had a dark coat, while Hailpaw had a white one, though their eye colour was the same, an icy light blue that they had inherited from their mother.

"You two seem to be up early today." A cat meowed, Hailpaw jumped at the voice. A brown tabby tom was making his way towards them, his amber eyes bright.

"Hello Grasswhisker!" Dogpaw mewed, her voice excited as she looked at her mentor. Grasswhisker was the ShadowClan deputy and a well-respected warrior throughout all the Clans. Dogpaw was lucky to have him as a mentor.

"Good morning Dogpaw, Hailpaw." Grasswhisker replied. He trotted over to stand next to the two young cats. "We're going to patrol the territory today, get you used to it." He explained, Hailpaw was only half listening as he scanned the area for a familiar golden pelt.

"Is Hailpaw coming with us?" Dogpaw asked.

"Yes, he and Sunstripe are coming with us today." Grasswhisker mewed, "Sunstripe's just getting some fresh-kill, which reminds me, I think you two should eat something." He said, flicking his tail towards the fresh-kill pile.

Hailpaw sighed and followed his sister as she bounded over to the pile; she picked up a large frog straight away. Hailpaw was pickier. He didn't like frogs or lizards that much, preferring the soft texture of a squirrel or mouse. In the end he chose a vole.

The two cats ate their meal outside of the apprentice's den; Grasswhisker had gone off to talk to another warrior across camp, leaving the two cats alone. Hailpaw slowly picked at his vole, he didn't feel hungry, but he swallowed it down. The two ate in silence, until Hailpaw felt a prick on his neck.

"Good morning Hailpaw." A taunting hiss came from behind him. Hailpaw turned his head slowly to see a tall grey tabby standing over him, an unsheathed claw on the white tom's neck.

"What do _you_ want, Jaypaw?" Dogpaw growled her eyes slits. Puddlepaw sneered.

"Only saying hello to your mute brother." He said. Dogpaw glowered at him.

"Go away Jaypaw." She hissed. Hailpaw felt the prick on his neck loosen, and the claw lifted.

"Relax. I wasn't doing anything. Besides, your brother never _said_ I was hurting him!" He said jeeringly, his glassy yellow eyes hardened as he turned to look Hailpaw in the eye. "I don't know why you don't speak, it should take a pathetic coward to not be able to mutter a single mewl, don't you think?" And with that, Jaypaw turned on his heel and padded away.

"StarClan! Some cats!" Dogpaw growled, "He's such a bully. None of that's true, Hailpaw, you're not a coward, and you don't need to be able to speak to prove that." She continued. Hailpaw felt confused as to why she was saying such things to reassure him. There was no need, he hadn't felt anything anyway.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Hailpaw struggled to follow as Sunstripe, Grasswhisker and Dogpaw trotted through the trees; their legs were longer than his. Noticing that her apprentice was far behind, he saw Sunstripe motion the others to stop while he caught up.

"Come on Hailpaw! You need to walk faster!" Dogpaw mewed, her voice impatient.

"It's not Hailpaw's fault we're all bigger than he is. But I suspect he'll be much bigger when he becomes a warrior." Sunstripe defended him, sending a reassuring glance to Hailpaw.

"Now that we're all here," Grasswhisker said, looking around at his three companions, "we should go around the territory today; first we should make our way to the small thunderpath!" He announced. Sunstripe nodded her golden head and started walking off.

"Everyone follow me then!" She purred her green eyes excited. The four cats padded silently through the pines, Grasswhisker pausing to point out a few landmarks. As the rotten smell of monster got closer, a smell of cat became apparent too.

"That's odd. I think I can smell Eaglewing…" Sunstripe meowed, puzzled.

"We'll follow his scent trail, it's weird, and I've not seen Eaglewing at all this morning." He mumbled thoughtfully. The four cats veered off the trail to the thunderpath, and followed Eagelwing's scent instead. Sunstripe was racing ahead, Hailpaw could hardly see her apart from her golden tail sweeping out from under a bush, and then she was gone.

A loud yowl came from behind the bush; Grasswhisker snapped his head up and ran to where it was coming from. Hailpaw and Dogpaw were following him. They were amazed at what they saw.

Sunstripe was standing over the body of a brown tom, he had a white chest and cold yellow eyes, and he had a large neck wound, that seemed to have filled the surrounding area with now dried up blood.

"Eaglewing." Grasswhisker murmured, his eyes narrowed, Hailpaw looked to see Dogpaw in shock, her expression was horrified, and Sunstripe was shaking as she stood next to the body. The strange thing was, Hailpaw felt nothing.

As soon as he had recovered from the shock, Grasswhisker straightened up. "Right, Hailpaw go back to camp and tell them what we've found." He mewed assertively. Sunstripe interrupted him with a shaky voice,

"Grasswhisker, Hailpaw can't speak. I doubt he could tell the Clan…"

"Oh, yes of course! Dogpaw, you go." Grasswhisker corrected himself. Dogpaw nodded and turned to make her way back to camp, Hailpaw followed but Sunstripe stopped him.

"No Hailpaw. Stay here and guard the body." She mewed. Hailpaw nodded and sat down.

The three cats sat in an awful silence. None of them knowing exactly the right words to say, until Sunstripe broke the silence,

"I wonder who could've done such a terrible thing." She whispered, her voice rasping.

"It could have been a badger, or a fox." Grasswhisker assured her.

"It would stink of them though, wouldn't it? But I can't smell either scent. All I can smell is blood." She muttered. Hailpaw didn't know what to do. He didn't feel shocked, or sad, or scared. But he was intrigued by what had happened.

There was a crash and everyone looked up. Dogpaw had returned with Lakefur, Nightpelt and Jaypaw.

"Eaglewing!" Yowled Lakefur, his green eyes glinting. He skidded to a halt next to the dead warrior's body as the other's caught up.

"Do you know what happened to him?" Nightpelt asked her tone business like as usual.

"No. Sunstripe found him like this. No scent of foxes or badgers, just blood." Grasswhisker mewed. Nightpelt nodded and motioned to Sunstripe and Jaypaw.

"You two, pick him up. We'll take him back to camp." She said. Grasswhisker glared at her; probably realising she was taking charge, while he was deputy.

"I'll carry him." Grasswhisker mewed. Nightpelt nodded and stalked into the forest. Lakefur was still crouched over Eagelwing's body, as he picked himself off the floor, he kept his head low.

Hailpaw wondered why they were so affected by the death. It was one cat in hundreds. As the cats walked back to camp, he examined the floor, and he swore he could see red foot prints.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Hailpaw and Dogpaw had been apprentices for three moons now, and not once had they been to a gathering until that point. With all the fuss about Eaglewing's death, the ShadowClan cats were surprised to learn on the death of another cat in ThunderClan had been found dead at around the same time, this they had learnt from previous gatherings.

When they arrived at the gathering, Hailpaw was shocked to see so many cats from each Clan in the same place. The place was buzzing with sound and laughter, as well as some worried mutterings. As the cats ventured onto the island that hosted the gathering, Hailpaw struggled to locate his sister, finding that she was talking with Jaypaw in the corner.

He padded over to them silently, steering his ears towards them to hear their conversation.

"_As if!_ Hailpaw wouldn't have anything to do with it!" He heard Dogpaw say, her eyes narrowed at the grey tabby. Jaypaw blinked and grinned,

"All I'm saying is that he acts very strange, and didn't seem surprised at all when Eaglewing was found dead." He meowed, his voice was relaxed but Hailpaw could sense a tinge of suspicion.

"You know Hailpaw is different from the rest! He's not a murderer, Jaypaw. Besides, you clearly dislike him; you used to be horrible to him when he first became an apprentice."

"I know I was cruel, but Dogpaw listen-" Jaypaw was interrupted.

"Now who are you two talking about?" A grey tom asked, his eyes were dark blue and the scent that was carried towards Hailpaw by the wind smelled was that of herbs and berries.

"Greymask!" Jaypaw mewed, staring at the tom with confusion. "It is none of your business!"

"Relax. I was only asking." Greymask said, his voice calm, "And who is this, Jaypaw, a she-cat taken your fancy perhaps?" He purred, his voice joking. Jaypaw's back fur rose.

"Of course not!" He spat. "T-this is Dogpaw, she's a fellow apprentice!" Dogpaw looked confused.

"Greetings, Dogpaw. I am Jaypaw's kin, Greymask, medicine cat of RiverClan." Greymask dipped his head to Dogpaw.

"You're Jaypaw's kin? How?" Dogpaw questioned, her eyes narrowed.

"I'm his mother's littermate. She moved from RiverClan to ShadowClan for certain…_reasons_." Greymask meowed. Jaypaw glared at him.

Hailpaw veered away, tired of listening in on their conversation, as he walked away numbly, he felt eyes burning into the back of his neck. Shaking it off as any old Clan cat wanting a better look at him, he padded over to where Sunstripe was conversing with an old RiverClan she-cat. He sat silently next to her as he tried to unscramble all he had learned. Jaypaw thought _he _had murdered Eaglewing, though Dogpaw had disbelieved him, Jaypaw's mother was from RiverClan and he was related to the RiverClan medicine cat. Strange.

A yowling sound came from the large tree as the Clan leaders stood on top of it. Every cat on the island snapped their head upwards to see them. The ThunderClan leader stepped forward, his eyes bright and angry.

"There has been another murder! Rabbitfur has been killed! We have been investigating the kill, and it took place near the ShadowClan border!" He hissed, turning to glare at the ShadowClan leader, Birdstar.

"Just what are you trying to imply, Sharpstar?! That ShadowClan has been killing your precious warriors? May I remind you, ShadowClan has had a warrior die too? If anything, we should be working together to find the killer, not accusing other Clans with little to no evidence of guiltiness." She mewed, challenging Herbstar to continue. "There's nothing to go on for evidence. Rabbitfur, Eaglewing and Duskpelt have nothing in common, and I have no idea why they've all been targeted. There is no fox or badger scent, no scent of cat and no good reason why any cat would hate them enough to kill them." She carried on, scanning the cats below for any outcries. Hailpaw was enthralled with her professional take on things.

The WindClan leader, Sandstar, who had been silent until that point, stepped forward.

"It could be that we may need to check and keep an eye on anything suspicious going on within our own Clans. I must remind all you to keep an eye on things. " She mewed, gazing at the other leaders. "Unless RiverClan has anything to add, we'll put an end to this gathering, if anyone finds out anything, do not hesitate to tell your Clan leader." With that, the leaders all looked at Redstar of RiverClan, who shook his head as if to say he had no news, and with that they leaped out of the tree and began taking their Clans back to their territories.

But before Hailpaw could join his Clan, he felt his feet lift off the ground, and he yelped as he felt himself be thrown into a bush at the edge of the island. He landed with a bump into the plant, the twigs poking his fur. He heard a rustle and saw a grey tom following him inside. Greymask.

"You will be wondering why I took you here, Hailpaw." He meowed, his eyes cold, very different to the cheerful cat he had seen before. "I will explain everything in time. But I need to tell you, Hailpaw. Stop your warrior training and become a medicine cat. Ask Quickclaw to train you, he'll know why and he'll take you on. If you don't become the medicine cat apprentice, I will kill you and your kin. I am not above that Hailpaw. I must admit to you now, I am the murderer. It will be clear in time, why I am asking this of you, and you will be thankful. Trust me." And with that, he leapt out of the bush. Hailpaw heard his fading pawsteps as he raced away.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Hailpaw stalked into the medicine cat's den, wondering what Greymask had been talking about. And how if he did not become the medicine cat apprentice, he would die along with his family, and if Hailpaw knew one thing, it was that a true Clan cat protected the others first and themselves second, so he would protect his family.

"Hailpaw, is that you?" A voice called; no doubt it was Quickclaw, the ShadowClan medicine cat. The young tom padded towards the apprentice, his russet brown fur was scruffy, as if he hadn't cleaned it and his amber eyes were wild. "Greymask told you to come here didn't he?" Quickclaw meowed urgently. Hailpaw nodded, his eyes scanning the cat.

"I will tell you everything." The medicine cat assured Hailpaw. Quickclaw glanced out of the entrance of the den, the moon was near the edge of the sky, it was close to dawn. "The first thing you should know," Said Quickclaw, tearing his eyes away from the moon, "is that there are more cats like you. Cats with…_abilities_." he murmured. Hailpaw cocked his head to the side.

"You cannot feel, Hailpaw. You don't feel love, friendship, hatred or even happiness. You don't have remorse. This…_ability_ gives you potential, and in the right paws, you could become great. Greater and more dangerous than any cat." Quickclaw explained, he sighed when he saw Hailpaw's look of confusion, "I have asked you to become a medicine cat because it is how you'll be able to meet the others. The other medicine cats I mean. They have abilities too. Even I have one." Quickclaw seemed quite proud of this fact.

"My ability is to feel no pain. I could run all day but my paws would never get sore, I could break my leg and I wouldn't care. I could have greencough but I would never notice. I am untouchable to hurt." Quickclaw mewed, proving his point by slicing his paw open on a jagged rock on the floor.

Blood dripped in scarlet drops as Quickclaw held out his paw, a ragged gash was in the middle of his paw pad, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it.

"You see? It doesn't hurt me." Quickclaw hissed. Hailpaw nodded slowly. Hailpaw was different from other cats, but not different from the medicine cats. "You will train as a medicine cat, but also a warrior. I will train you to fight better than any cat." Quickclaw announced, and then the young tom's amber eyes narrowed.

"Unless you don't want to train with me, then you would have to answer to Fell, and I don't think any cat would want to answer to _her_." Quickclaw growled. Hailpaw sat down quickly and looked at the medicine cat, then nodded quickly. He had no idea what was happening, but as soon as he had heard the name Fell, he had immediately been compelled to agree to do what Quickclaw was asking of him.

"So you'll train with me? Good. I am sorry I have not told you very much about what's happening, Hailpaw, but tomorrow night we will meet with the other medicine cats and they will explain everything. Now get to your den. I will tell Birdstar of your decision to join me tomorrow morning." And with that, Quickclaw flicked his tail as if to dismiss the apprentice. And Hailpaw hurried away, knowing he would not be able to sleep.

* * *

Rainpaw purred as he looked down at his bloody paws. _A brilliant kill as ever, _he thought to himself, looking back up at Eaglewing's cold, dead body. _ShadowClan won't know what hit them!_

The RiverClan apprentice padded through ShadowClan's territory, acting as if it were his own, rolling around in the ground and running around freely. Knowing he would leave no scent or hairs. He suddenly came to realise his paws were making faint red paw prints in the ground, he shrugged it off. They could not track him, but just to be safe, he licked his paws clean, tasting the sweet, sweet taste of blood on his tongue.

As he grew bored of running around ShadowClan's territory, and grew sleepy, he padded softly over the border to RiverClan, relishing in the familiar scents. As he bounded toward camp, he heard a twitch in the bushes.

Rainpaw tensed at the sound and swung around to face whatever was inside there. Not even relaxing when he saw the familiar grey face of his mentor emerge from it.

"Rainpaw what are you doing out this late? I would've thought you'd have finished off Eagelwing by now." Drawled the slight tom, his blue eyes narrowed. Rainpaw glared at the medicine cat.

"I was enjoying myself down there. Besides, it's none of your business what I get up to. Is it?" Rainpaw hissed, Greymask cocked his head, his eyes still calm and his body relaxed, Rainpaw had always been unnerved by his calm demeanour.

"It is exactly my business if you get our activities found out. Especially by ShadowClan. Those brutes would bring them out in the open the first chance they got. And we do not want that. Do we?" He mewed, his eyes locking with Rainpaw's.

"Are you trying to imply I could get us caught? I must remind you that I have no scent and cannot shed fur, meaning I could never leave any evidence that we are behind the kill." The apprentice growled.

"Don't think I don't know of your strange ways, Rainpaw. You are a demented creature and I would not hesitate in killing you if I had the chance. Now come on, the Clan may notice our absence soon if we do not return swiftly." Greymask murmured, and with that, the two toms slunk back to the RiverClan camp. Both stuck in their own thoughts, and both contemplating ways they could kill the other with no consequences.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Hailpaw awoke to the sound of thunder. It was raining outside, after the long days of heat; it was good that there would be no drought this season. He looked around and saw he was the only cat in the apprentice's den, save his sister. Hailpaw wondered what she would think when she found out he had become the medicine cat's apprentice.

Hailpaw pawed at Dogpaw's shoulder until she stirred, her eyes blinking drowsily.

"Hailpaw?" She mumbled, Hailpaw head-butted her and she picked herself up, stretching.

"Wow. That gathering last night was intense wasn't it?" She asked, not waiting for an answer, she continued, "I wonder who _has _been committing those murders though, obviously not any of us." She peered outside and gasped. "Look Hailpaw, everyone's up already! I know we're allowed to sleep in, but not this late!" She scrambled outside, Hailpaw followed her slowly.

"Hailpaw!" Came a familiar voice. Hailpaw looked up to see Quickclaw hurrying towards him. "I told Birdstar about your apprenticeship to me, she's going to announce it this evening. Then we'll go to-" Quickclaw cut himself up as he saw Dogpaw staring at them.

"Hailpaw's going to become a medicine cat apprentice?!" Asked Dogpaw, "But Hailpaw, we were supposed to train together!" She mewed, her voice urgent.

"Certain…_circumstances _have made it clear Hailpaw is destined to be trained as a medicine cat." Quickclaw meowed awkwardly looking at the two young cats. Hailpaw refused to look Dogpaw in the eye.

"Right." Dogpaw mumbled. She had seemed to calm down, and was looking at the ground, "That's fine Hailpaw. I shouldn't be so upset about this. It's your choice what you do." She mewed. Hailpaw walked up to her and licked her forehead, she looked up at him.

"Well, I'll be off! I need to find Grasswhisker!" She said, dismissing the two cats with a tail flick and bounding off towards the warrior's den.

"She seemed to take that very personally." Mused Quickclaw, "Anyway, Hailpaw. I need to inform you that I have been told not to teach you herbs, they are useless to what you're going to be trained for." He finished.

Hailpaw blinked. He had assumed Quickclaw was going to teach him how to actually be a medicine cat, but apparently not.

"You'll like the other members of The Gifted Circle, there is a young apprentice like you there, Rainpaw's his name I think, now his gift is not leaving a scent or shedding his fur, it's quite useful for getting away with what we do." Quickclaw mewed.

Hailpaw cocked his head. _What exactly do they do?_ He wondered. As Quickclaw led him to the medicine cat's den, Hailpaw readied himself for the strange new world he was entering.

It was raining when Rainpaw awoke. He blinked drowsily in the dim light of day and turned his head to Greymask, who was asleep in his nest.

Rainpaw heaved himself up and stretched. He still felt a sense of self pleasure as he thought of the kill he had completed many moons ago. Greymask had refused to take the young tom to the gathering, claiming he would probably terrify the younger apprentices with his strange ways, to which Rainpaw had been furious at.

As the apprentice stuck his head out of his den, he saw other cats perk up and stare at him. Ever since he was a kit, his Clan had agreed something was off about him. They had found it strange that he carried no scent, and of the fact there were dark shadows underneath his eyes made it worse. Some cats even went as far to say he was a symbol from the Dark Forest, the Clan had only let him stay and train was because they thought he would rage war against them for throwing him out.

_Clan cats are strange. They believe in such stupid nonsense. _He thought to himself as he walked out of the den, flicking his tail at a young tom that jumped and scampered away quickly as he padded past. Rainpaw laughed, they were so easy to bother.

The only cat who actually tried to deal with him, Voleclaw strolled up to him, seemingly not bothered by his glares, he _really _hated her.

"Good morning Rainpaw. I assume you slept well." She mewed, her voice calm and uncondescending.

"Quite." Rainpaw responded, eyeing her sceptically. He knew she was secretly as terrified of him as the others. She just hid it well.

"Is Greymask up yet? Fishpaw has a thorn in his pad." She asked. Rainpaw looked her in the eyes and sneered.

"I could deal with her myself." He said, expecting her to refuse to let him see the apprentice.

"Okay." She agreed. Rainpaw was inwardly shocked. No cat had ever let him take care of illnesses before. He scared them too much. This was a challenge. _She wants to see if I'm trustworthy_ he thought.

"Good. Bring her to me." He meowed. There was nothing to lose. Now the final cat had been found, there was no reason for him to be stuck in this Clan anymore. He was going to leave, he was going to leave with a bang.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the branch for a Clan meeting!" Birdstar yowled. Hailpaw padded over to the tree slowly. Quickclaw was sat on a large root and was motioning to Hailpaw to join him.

"I have called this meeting to acknowledge that Hailpaw will not be training as a warrior anymore, but a medicine cat apprentice." No cats were surprised; they had all heard the news by now. The sun was dipping into the forest, leaving shadows casted among the camp. Dogpaw looked over at him and nodded reassuringly.

"Hailpaw, step forward." Birdstar mewed, her blazing amber eyes pinning him. Hailpaw stepped forward silently meeting her eyes, she looked unnerved. "Do you agree to cease training as a warrior and start training as a medicine cat?"

Hailpaw nodded.

"Quickclaw, do you wish to take on Hailpaw as your apprentice?" Birdstar turned to the medicine cat.

"Of course." He answered. To any other cat it would have sounded normal. But Hailpaw could detect the sarcasm in his voice; he knew Hailpaw would not be training as a medicine cat, rather being trained strange techniques and styles that would somehow reveal his destiny. It sounded mousebrained to the young cat.

"Then I present to you, Hailpaw, the future medicine cat of ShadowClan!" Birdstar yowled. The Clan yowled in acceptance and Dogpaw bounded over to Hailpaw.

"I'm happy for you brother!" She mewed. Hailpaw nodded at her.

"Ready to start training Hailpaw?" Quickclaw asked. Hailpaw nodded. "Tell Birdstar we're out collecting herbs. I need to show Hailpaw the ropes." Quickclaw mewed to Dogpaw, before setting off to the exit of camp, with Hailpaw padding close behind him.

* * *

"Now, Fishpaw, what is your ailment?" Rainpaw inquired, sorting through his herbs.

"A-a thorn stuck in my p-paw." The young she-cat stammered. Rainpaw turned and nodded understandingly.

"Well I've got just the right herbs for your paw. First I'll pull it out. Hold out your paw for me please." He mewed. Fishpaw held out a shaking paw to him and he gently tugged at the thorn. It came out easily and a burst of blood dribbled out of the wound. Rainpaw resisted the urge to lap it up.

"Now that didn't hurt, did it?" He asked, searching her face for an expression.

"N-no. Thank you" She mumbled, not looking him in the eye. She turned to leave, but Rainpaw stopped her.

"Wait." He meowed. She stopped quickly and jerked her head around. "I have a herb that can help you. It completely takes the pain away and heals your paw faster. But it is very rare, so I only give it to deserving cats." He explained to the small cat. Her ears perked up at this.

"Uh, t-thank you!" She squeaked. He turned to his herb store and picked up a normal leaf. There was nothing strange about it. It was wrapped in a small parcel. He pushed the parcel towards her, and she quickly ate it, wincing at the fowl taste.

"Now remember Fishpaw. This herb is very special. It must remain our little secret I gave it to you. You won't tell anyone, right?" He mewed, she nodded frantically and practically dashed out of the medicine cat's den. Rainpaw stared at the remains of the so-called herb, bits of leaf and the unmistakeable glint of deathberry.

Hours later…

The evening sun was blazing as Rainpaw walked out of the medicine cat's den, observing the camp. There was no cat in sight. Each one of them was in their dens. It seemed a _terrible _illness had befallen a lot of warriors, very unfortunate. He heard a hammering of paw and looked behind him as he saw a flurry of cream fur, and then Voleclaw was upon him.

"Rainpaw!" She snapped, "What did you _do_?!"

"So you've finally realised the source of this illness then?" He asked, his voice pleasant. Voleclaw snarled at him. "I put deathberries in the fresh-kill pile if you _must _know."

"_What?!_" Voleclaw gasped, "Rainpaw! This is unacceptable! You have killed most of your own Clan!" She yowled.

"Why should I have let them live? They feared me, rightly so. But they shunned me, and they should have known not to shun the wrath of the dark forest." He growled.

"You killed Fishpaw. You gave her and a lot of other cats in this Clan deathberries, you _killed _them. Give me one good reason why I should not kill you!"

"Because you aren't able to." Rainpaw mewed, then slid out from underneath her grip. She whirled towards him but he was too fast. He leapt at her and bit down into her neck, as he pressed on her struggling got slower and slower, until it was none existent. She fell with a slump to the floor and Rainpaw licked his lips as he tasted her blood on his tongue.

He heard a cat softly walking towards him and he turned around, expecting to fight. But it was Greymask.

"Rainpaw. What in StarClan's name have you _done_?!" He growled, losing his calm demeanour at last. Rainpaw purred in satisfaction.

"Obviously I killed everyone. It was easy. Though, they really should have seen it coming." He mewed. Greymask snarled.

"Why though?! You have endangered your own future! Now you cannot stay in the Clan, you must leave to Fell's base if you wish to live through this." The medicine cat mewed.

"I was planning to do that. I even thought of changing my own name. I will become a rogue, and I shall kill every single Clan cat."

"Your ambition is vast. Yet we will see what your actual abilities can hold. Now go." Greymask was back to his calm expression, and dismissed Greypaw with a tail flick. As Rainpaw ran through the evening light, he felt a surge of satisfaction. _One down, thee to go_.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

_Rainkit looked around the nursery. Most of the other kits were playing amongst themselves, they never let him join. Whenever he ventured near them they scattered, and he had no idea why. Sitting on his own was boring and he was lonely. His mother was just outside the nursery, maybe he could impress her by venturing outside before his brother and sister._

_He trotted up to the entrance and peered outside, ShadowClan was buzzing with activity and it made him feel a little dizzy, he turned his head and saw his mother, Rivershine, talking to his father, Spottedfoot. He edged closer to hear what they were saying._

"_I just can't live with him, Spottedfoot!" His mother mewed, her head down, Rainkit wondered what she was talking about, "He has no scent, and he's strange. Greymask says he's a sign from the dark forest, I can't have a kit like that, I don't know what to do." She cried, Spottedfoot places his tail on her back._

"_I know. I feel the same way, but what can we do?" He asked._

"_Drown the thing. It's the only way we can save ourselves." Rivershine meowed hissed. Rainkit flinched. _She wants to get rid of me?_ He thought, he felt like icy water had just been poured all over him._

"_We can't drown him-" Spottedfoot began, but Rainkit interrupted him._

"_No. You can't drown me. If you do I will call upon the dark forest, and they will kill you!" He squeaked, making everything up as he went along. Rivershine gasped,_

"_R-Rainkit?!" She squeaked, flinching at his gaze, she believed him._

Rainfall woke with a jolt. He had fallen asleep in a mangled bramble bush, and as he looked around he knew where he was. Fell's clearing.

Fell was the she-cat who had explained his powers, and introduced him to the others. It was her who had suggested all the cats with abilities would join up as a medicine cat to fool their Clanmates, and as he blinked in the moonlight, he saw her, like a shadow across a field, padding towards him.

"Did you sleep well, Rainpaw?" She asked, her voice like wood splintering together, her dark red eyes resting upon him.

"Yes, and by the way, my name is Rainfall now." The young tom corrected her.

"I see, you have given yourself a new name." Fell mewed. "You did well, killing your Clan with those poisoned leaves."

"Thank you, Fell. Is the meeting tonight, by the way?" He asked, cocking his head.

"Yes. The others should be arriving soon." She answered. "By the way, Rainfall, did Greymask know of your betrayal?"

"Oh, he knew." Rainfall meowed, "He definitely knew."

* * *

Hailpaw gasped as Quickclaw led him into the clearing, the moonlight shone on it, giving the place a silver glow, and there were eight big rocks in the middle, making a circle.

"Fell!" Quickclaw called, "I am here, and I have brought Hailpaw!"

A strong scent of disease filled Hailpaw's nostrils as a black cat glided towards them, Hailpaw gasped. She was the cat who had been chasing him in the dream he had had the night he had first become an apprentice. What was even more surprising were her eyes, a dark red that seemed to stab into him.

Before anyone cat say anything, another cat strolled towards them. He looked haughty and reminded Hailpaw of Jaypaw before he had fallen smitten for Dogpaw. This cat was dark grey with a white chest, belly, muzzle and paws and had dark green eyes with shadows underneath them. Hailpaw couldn't smell anything on him.

"Oh, Hailpaw, this is Rainpaw-" Quickclaw began, but the cat cut him off.

"It's Rain_fall_ now." The tom meowed arrogantly.

"Greymask gave you your medicine cat's name?" Asked Quickclaw,politely.

"No. I gave it to myself." Rainfall meowed. Quickclaw looked confused.

"It's nice to see you all getting along. But we need to get a move on, the others are coming and we need to sit in the circle before talking." Fell meowed, Hailpaw jumped when she spoke, her voice was like shattering ice, cold and violent.

Quickclaw nodded at the she-cat and padded towards the eight rocks in the middle. Hailpaw followed, and saw the other cats climbing onto the rocks and sitting down, so he did the same. They sat in a strange semi-circle.

They sat in silence until footsteps made all of them except Fell turn around. A tortoishell she-cat was walking through the clearing towards them, she had a WindClan scent and her green eyes were narrowed.

"Hello Leafpaw!" Mewed Quickclaw in a strained voice when she arrived, the she-cat blinked at him.

"Hello Quickclaw, Fell." She acknowledged the two cats by nodding at them, and then her gaze fell on Rainfall, "Rainpaw." She meowed.

"It's Rainfall." The tom meowed. She didn't seem to care as she stared at Hailpaw.

"Is this the last cat we need to find?" She asked, to nobody in particular.

"Yes. We can finally go ahead with our plans now we've found Hailpaw." Said Fell, as soon as she'd finished, a blue-grey she-cat rushed up, panting.

"Leafpaw! You walk much too fast!" She gasped. She also had the scent of WindClan clinging to her fur.

"Bluewish, it's nice that you came." Fell meowed. Bluewish nodded as she took a seat on a rock, only stopping to eye Hailpaw curiously. Leafpaw took a seat next to her; Hailpaw assumed Bluewish was her mentor.

"Now we're only waiting for Sandheart." Fell exclaimed, Hailpaw couldn't tell if she was just explaining this, or threatening this Sandheart cat into coming.

Soon enough a pale ginger tom padded into the clearing, Hailpaw recognised him as the medicine cat of ThunderClan.

"Sorry I'm late. Some RiverClan cats came over to the camp complaining about Rainpaw. We kicked them out and agreed they were speaking nonsense, but what did you do?" He meowed.

"You'll find out at the next gathering, oh and it's Rain_fall_ by the way." The tom mewed back; Sandheart shrugged and took a seat.

"Wait, where's Greymask?" Quickclaw asked, noticing one rock was empty.

"Now that Greymask has no need for spying on the Clans for ability cats anymore, and has no ability of his own, I had to deal with him and make sure he would not tell anyone of our activities." Fell meowed, jerking her head towards a dark red patch on the ground. Quickclaw gulped beside Hailpaw.

"Now, shall this meeting commence?" Asked Fell, the cats around her nodded in unison, "We are all here today because it is time for our plans to go ahead. As you all know, Hailpaw has been located and brought to this clearing to learn the truth about what we are trying to do." She mewed.

"Now, I have collected all the cats with abilities from each Clan. Quickclaw can't feel pain, Rainfall has no scent and can't shed fur, Bluewish can see visions of the future, Leafpaw can read any cat's mind, Sandheart can never get tired and Hailpaw can't feel anything." Fell meowed.

"Now Hailpaw, your talent in very important because cats hold back when they have feelings, they cannot kill if they have friendship with a cat, or feel remorse, but you do not feel anything, and you will not hold back." She continued, the other cats glanced of him with a mix of awe, confusion and in Rainfall's case, jealousy.

"With the correct training, we can make you our way into the Clans. We want to purify the Clan cats of malice and treachery, to make a race of loyal and ruthless warriors, and we need you to do it, Hailpaw."


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Hailpaw followed Quickclaw out of the clearing, the moon was halfway down the sky and this was the second night in a row Hailpaw had been out late. Quickclaw had stopped to pick up some herbs on the way, which had caused even more time to be lost; when they got back it was almost dawn.

Hailpaw shuffled to his nest in the medicine cat's den and lay down, letting himself slip into sleep.

_Hailpaw awoke in a clearing not unlike the one he had just visited, the moon and stars lit it up and it seemed to be glowing, Hailpaw saw many cats staring at him, one was his mother, Scarletpelt, who had been killed in battle a few days before his apprentice ceremony._

"_Hailpaw, we urge you to stop." Said a cat his voice crackled like dead leaves, "StarClan are here, in the flesh to stop you from joining with Fell." _

_Hailpaw found he could speak in this place, and stared at the cats. "Why?" He asked. Many of the others turned and whispered to each other, but the cat stayed still._

"_Because what Fell's planning is wrong, the other cats in that circle are not right in the head, ever since she became in touch with them, they started losing their minds. But you are sane still, so I urge you, please don't go on with her plans."_

_Hailpaw found himself shaking his head, and all the cats turned to the speaker._

"_Fell has already messed with his mind." They meowed._

* * *

Rainfall padded through ShadowClan's territory, it was a day after the meeting with Fell, and since then he had been wondering through other Clans' territory, looking for any cats willing to pick a fight with him. So far there had been none.

Suddenly he heard soft footsteps behind him, he whirled around and saw a young black she-cat padding through the trees, her eyes were a luminous blue and her fur looked soft. Rainfall found himself breaking a stick as loud as he could to get her attention. She turned around quickly, saw him, then charged.

Rainfall could hardly think of what to do before she bashed into him, he pushed her off him quickly.

"Calm down. I am no threat to your Clan." He lied. The she-cat narrowed her eyes, giving him a cute confused look.

"I can't scent any Clan on you, which means you're a loner, right?" She asked. He nodded,

"I travel around a lot and heard about the Clans, I heard ShadowClan was the bravest and fiercest of them all, so I thought maybe I could visit…" He trailed off thoughtfully. The she-cat glared at him,

"I'm not going to fall for that! You could attack our Clan at any given time if I take you there!" She hissed.

"Can you smell any hostility on me? Can you find anything about me at all that seems dangerous?" He meowed, she nodded.

"The way you threw me off you when I attacked you, that was a move taught by the Clans." She meowed, Rainfall swore silently, hastily coming up with another lie.

"My mother's mother was from the Clans and taught my mother about them, that's how I know about them, and she taught me everything I know, but I had no idea that move was a Clan move, intriguing." He explained smoothly, the she-cat still looked suspicious,

"I see." She mewed, "I guess it couldn't hurt to show you the camp, because even if you try something, you'll be ripped apart by the other cats." With a shrug, the she-cat beckoned him forward with her tail and trotted through the woods.

"By the way, what's your name?" She asked, glancing at him sideways.

"Rainfall, sounds a bit like a Clan name I guess, my mother truly believed in the warrior code so I guess she wanted her kits to be like her. What's your name?" Rainfall meowed.

"Dogpaw." The she-cat said, Rainfall couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Dogpaw!? What a horrible name for such a pretty she-cat!" He chuckled; Dogpaw gave him a look as if trying to decide whether to take his exclamation as a compliment or an insult.

"I like my name actually! I'm called Dogpaw because when I was a kit, a dog invaded our camp, and went into the nursery, and I hissed at it and it ran away! It shows how brave I was, even as a kit!"

"Dogs are very stupid animals and cats are wrongly scared of them." Said Rainfall jokingly.

"Yes well, rain is useless and has no meaning other than to make us wet." Dogpaw countered, making fun of Rainfall's name instead.

"I object! Without rain, the forest would die and all the prey would run out!" Rainfall announced proudly, Dogpaw gave him a bemused glance,

"You're saying the forest would die without you." She muttered, and Rainfall nodded dramatically. They both laughed, and Rainfall felt as if this was the first time a cat had spoken to him and not been scared, angry or hostile, and it felt nice.

The two cats continued like this, joking around until they arrived at the ShadowClan camp entrance, and Dogpaw stopped.

"Wait. I'm not so sure about this anymore. I could get in trouble for bringing you here." She mewed, as if the thought had just occurred to her. "Where do you actually come from, I need to know before we go in."

"I come from over those mountains, the ones full of snow, I travelled through them to get here." Rainfall meowed. "I used to live near a river there, but twolegs came to tear it up, and I had to leave. I remembered my mother's tales of the Clans, and I decided to visit them." He lied, making up his story as he went along.

"I see, sorry about your river, by the way." Dogpaw mewed, not looking him in the eye.

"I can go away if you want; you don't need to take me to your camp if you don't want to." Rainfall meowed. Dogpaw snapped her head back to face him.

"No! I mean, I want you to come with me, you've come very far to seeing the Clans, you must really want to see them." And with that, the she-cat led him into her Clan, not knowing truly who he was, what he was, where he was from or what he actually wanted.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"…And this is comfrey it's used for-" Quickclaw was cut off from teaching Hailpaw useful facts about herbs by a yowling in the clearing, the medicine cat's head whipped up immediately, and he beckoned Hailpaw to follow him outside.

Most of ShadowClan were stood in a circle muttering amongst themselves, Birdstar was just padding over to see what was going on, when Hailpaw saw what was happening. Rainfall.

Rainfall was stood in the circle, surrounded by the Clan, he didn't look scared, he looked interested. Dogpaw was stood next to him, her ears flattened against her head, Hailpaw heard Quickclaw gasp from beside him.

"Dogpaw, who is this cat and why have you taken him to our camp?" Birdstar demanded, her voice was calm like usual, but hostility blazed in her eyes. Rainfall glanced at Quickclaw and shook his head quickly, motioning for the cat to not reveal his identity, then Rainfall stepped forwards.

"I am merely a cat descended from the Clans and wanting to come back to his kin." He mewed. Quickclaw cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"What? Explain more!" Birdstar growled, the other cats were staring in confusion.

"My mother's mother was a part of ShadowClan, she left to become a loner, but she taught my mother about the Clans, who in turn taught me about them. I have come here because my home over the mountains has been wrecked, and I could think of nowhere other than here to turn to." Rainfall lied. Hailpaw wondered why he was here in the first place. It was clear no cat recognised him.

"You wish to join our Clan?" Asked Birdstar, narrowing her eyes, "Absolutely not, we can't go around inviting loners, kittypets and all other kinds of cats into ShadowClan, what would we become?!" She yowled. Grasswhisker briskly walked up to her and placed his tail on her shoulder.

"May I suggest, instead of turning Rainfall away, we could test him to see if he's trustworthy, and to see if he's a valuable warrior." The tom meowed, "We are very short on warriors, Birdstar, and Leafbare will only make this harder. We need strong cats."

"How would we test him?" Birdstar meowed. Grasswhisker looked up, gazing at all the cats around.

"I propose a day of testing. Tomorrow, Rainfall will be asked to show how well he can fight, hunt and scent for other cats! Then we will vote on whether he may stay!" There was a hint of amusement in Grasswhisker's voice, many of the younger cats were whispering excitedly, while the older cats were looking suspiciously at Rainfall, who stood with great confidence next to Dogpaw, who had so far been ignored by most of the cats. Quickclaw took this opportunity to speak.

"I would like to question Rainfall and Dogpaw if that's okay. I also welcome Rainfall to stay in the medicine cat's den for the night if he wishes." The medicine cat meowed. Rainfall nodded curtly,

"That would be much obliged, thank you." The tom meowed, then he flicked his tail at Dogpaw, urging her to follow him as he made his way through the crowd towards the medicine cats.

* * *

"Why are you here Rainfall? What happened to your Clan?" Quickclaw demanded. Hailpaw and Dogpaw had been told to do an errand while he questioned Rainfall.

"I poisoned a lot of cats and I am now exiled." The tom meowed. Quickclaw blinked.

"What?"

"I poisoned a lot of cats." Rainfall repeated, "I put deathberries in their food and a lot of them are dead. In fact, from what I've seen from spying on them, only about five of them are alive, and three of those cats are kits, one is our leader, and the other is Voleclaw, a she-cat who has always hated me and will no doubt inform the other cats of my evil ways and I will be slaughtered."

"Why did you come _here_?" Quickclaw growled. Rainfall sneered,

"ShadowClan seemed the friendliest Clan around here. ThunderClan are too obsessed with blood purity, I would not fit into WindClan, and of course, most of RiverClan are dead. I needed a Clan to rest in, and also, my last victim is in this Clan."

"Who is your last victim? I know you killed Eaglewing, and you also killed Rabbitfur-" Quickclaw was cut off.

"No. Greymask killed Rabbitfur, he also killed Duskpelt. I only have one cat left to kill. That cat is Sunstripe." Rainfall mewed.

"Why?"

"She killed my friend." Rainfall meowed simply.

"What? Are you speaking about Fernpaw?! That was seasons ago, and you're taking action now?!" Quickclaw growled, Rainfall glared at him,

"May I remind you of the situation I was in at RiverClan? Most of the cats hated me, even my own parents, but Fernpaw was my friend, and Sunstripe killed her in battle. Sometimes, a friend is all that's needed to keep someone from becoming mad."

"That was an accident Rainfall-" Quickclaw began,

"Are you implying you want to stop me from killing your Clanmate, even though I am one of the circle and it is against the rules to stop a fellow circle cat from killing anyone?" Rainfall asked his voice filled with aggression. Quickclaw shook his head quickly.

"Good. I will just be in your Clan for a few days. But if I were you, I'd stay away from the fresh-kill; you may find a few unwanted berries in there." And with that, Rainfall padded to his nest and lay down, closing his eyes.

Quickclaw turned away from the tom, knowing that he would be catching his own fresh-kill from now on.

* * *

Hailpaw padded through the trees with his sister, looking for the herbs Quickclaw had told them to collect. Dogpaw hadn't stopped talking since they'd gotten out of camp, about how weird Rainfall was, about what was going to happen to him tomorrow and about how excited she was about getting to know him more.

"He seems like a really interesting cat!" She meowed, "Jaypaw doesn't like him, but what else is new, Jaypaw doesn't like anything interesting."

Hailpaw wondered why she was so obsessed with Rainfall, he seemed pretty creepy, and not at all a nice cat. But what did he know, he didn't have feelings.

"Birdstar asked me about where and how I'd met Rainfall, she was really angry, I wonder if she thinks he's suspicious or untrustworthy, he must seem like that to everyone, he _is _a strange loner who came to our forest. But his story makes sense." Dogpaw continued. Hailpaw felt the evening breeze ruffle his fur.

"Jaypaw seems angrier than usual. He's changed you know, he's actually really good at fighting and stuff! He should be becoming a warrior soon." Dogpaw mewed. "Rainfall used a Clan fighting move on me when I attacked him. He said his mother taught it to him, that's pretty cool." Dogpaw was very used to speaking, some cats said she spoke enough for both herself and Hailpaw, which made up for the fact Hailpaw didn't speak.

Dogpaw seemed to notice they were walking in circles and groaned,

"We forgot to get the herbs Quickclaw wanted!"

With that, the two siblings rushed away.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Rainfall was awoken by a distressed Quickclaw.

"You must get up, you're being tested today!" The medicine cat meowed urgently.

"I really wish I hadn't agreed to this testing thing. I'm only here to kill Sunstripe, then I'm leaving, you won't see me again until the gathering."

"The testing is only for a day but the gathering is a long time away. But, Rainfall, your old Clan-"

"The RiverClan cats are terrified of me. They would not do anything to sway or threaten me. They believe I have powers from the dark forest." Rainfall spat. Quickclaw sighed,

"All I'm saying is that, the member of RiverClan who's unafraid of you, Voleclaw I think, won't she not hesitate to kill you?" Quickclaw asked.

"No she will not hesitate, which is why I need to leave soon. I need to plan my leave though. If I show up here, kill Sunstripe and leave, all the cats will automatically know it was me who killed her, and I want to save that realisation for the gathering. So I'll stay here for bit, kill Sunstripe, and stay a bit longer, before deciding Clanlife isn't for me."

"Then…?"

"Then I'll reveal that I killed Sunstripe at the gathering." Rainfall mewed. "I'm going to frame a cat for Sunstripe's death. Then ShadowClan will punish them. When they find out it was me who killed Sunstripe, they will be ashamed."

"Why make this so complicated?" Quickclaw asked, cocking his head to the side. Rainfall sneered,

"Because it's more entertaining to watch cats suffer."

* * *

It had been a long day and Hailpaw was tired. Rainfall had been tested and altogether was found a reliable and friendly cat. His behaviour was to be monitored for a few more days, but he was allowed to stay.

Dogpaw had been particularly interested in the tom's testing and had volunteered herself for helping him on more than one occasion, and Jaypaw was not pleased about it.

"I don't understand why she likes him so much, she barely knows the cat!" The young tom grumbled, he had latched onto Hailpaw, probably because the white tom was the only other cat his age so he could vent about his pent up feelings and rage.

"What does he have that I don't? We're both grey male cats for StarClan's sake!" Jaypaw continued. Hailpaw nodded along slowly. Jaypaw sighed in exasperation and fumed in silent rage for a minute then turned to the white apprentice.

"Thanks for listening to me, Hailpaw. I know I've been kind of mean to you in the past." Was all Jaypaw said before walking away, leaving Hailpaw to lie on the grass in peace.

* * *

Dogpaw and Rainfall sat in the long grass near the entrance to the apprentice's den; Dogpaw ignored the suspicious looks from the other cats and sighed happily in the warm evening breeze.

"What was your life like before your home was torn up?" Dogpaw asked, Rainfall narrowed his eyes in though, then turned to her,

"It was strange. I'd always thought that I didn't fit in. The cats were aggressive and the other animals and twolegs were too."

"I see." Dogpaw meowed.

"So, are Hailpaw and Jaypaw your brothers?" Rainfall asked, Dogpaw snapped her head around and stared at him.

"Wherever did you get the idea that Jaypaw was my brother?"

"You two seemed close. I'm guessing he's not your brother though."

"No. Hailpaw is." Dogpaw muttered. Rainfall laughed,

"So, are you and Jaypaw _very _close then?" He asked. It took Dogpaw a second to realise what he was implying, then she jumped,

"Of course not! Well, we are close, but not in _that _way!" She growled.

"That's good." Mewed Rainfall, "Now I won't have to get jealous." And with that, he stood up and padded away to the fresh-kill pile, leaving Dogpaw's head clouded with confusion.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

A lot can happen in nine moons. Rainfall could avoid most gatherings in nine moons, RiverClan could go missing in nine moons and Hailpaw could become increasingly distant from his sister in nine moons, and Sunstripe could be found dead outside of the warrior's den in nine moons.

"What is StarClan's name happened?!" Hissed Birdstar as she glared at the body in front of her, Grasswhisker placed his tail on her shoulder,

"Murder." He muttered. None of the ShadowClan cats knew what to do, and Rainfall could see a few of them glancing at him in suspicion.

"May I suggest trying to find fur in her claws or around the murder sight, maybe scenting it as well." Mewed Quickclaw, Birdstar nodded slowly and paced around Sunstripe, sniffing and examining the body. This went on for a few minutes before the she-cat looked up.

"Hailpaw." She meowed, and Rainfall purred in satisfaction.

* * *

Outcries were heard throughout the Clan as Hailpaw padded forward, Dogpaw was too shocked to say or think anything. _My brother's a murderer_ she thought, saying it over and over in her head, and finding it sort of made sense. Hailpaw hadn't hung around with her in a long time, he'd started spending more and more time training as a medicine cat. His muscles had also gotten harder and leaner and he had a strange new look about him.

"Hailpaw. I know you cannot speak, so nod if you killed Sunstripe." Birdstar mewed, from the corner of her eye, Dogpaw thought she saw Hailpaw look to Rainfall, but only for a second. Hailpaw nodded. More gasps.

"I will leave it to a Clan vote on what to do with you. All cats who wish to exile Hailpaw and save him from death, step forwards." Birdstar hissed. Dogpaw couldn't move, she was still too shocked, and none of the other cats moved either.

"Then, Hailpaw you will be killed." Birdstar growled, she showed no feelings of any kind as she stared at the white tom curiously, probably trying to see his reaction, though he didn't have one.

Birdstar prowled up to the tom and raised her head, showing her sharp teeth, and struck down to Hailpaw's neck, Dogpaw braced herself for Hailpaw's demise and closed her eyes tightly.

Hailpaw didn't let Birdstar get him. He leapt at her, clutching his claws into her back and bit her, the flow of blood sliding into his mouth, the she-cat gave a cry of rage and pain, and twisted in his grip, he jumped away, she was covered in blood.

"Get him!" She hissed, except nobody did, the ShadowClan cats stared at something behind them, and Hailpaw turned around quickly, WindClan and ThunderClan had arrived. Just as planned. The white tom glanced at Rainfall, who nodded. Then Hailpaw scrambled away from ShadowClan, into the dark forest beyond.

* * *

WindClan and ThunderClan were too much for ShadowClan to take on alone, but no matter how many times Birdstar tried to reason with the cats attacking, they never stopped. Dogpaw found herself in a flurry of battle, hopelessly searching for Jaypaw, Rainfall or even Grasswhisker for a sense of comfort and reassurance, but she couldn't see any of them through the fighting.

She yelped as a tortoishell she-cat leapt onto her, she smelled of herbs, she was a medicine cat. Why was she fighting?

The she-cat dug her claws into Dogpaw, raking fur out, her green eyes glazed, almost bored. Dogpaw fought back, but the she-cat was much stronger than her, and seemed to move with a confident ease she had seen only Rainfall and Hailpaw perfect.

Just when the she-cat was about to give a final strike, a familiar voice came from behind Dogpaw,

"Leafpaw! Stop!" Yelled Rainfall, the she-cat stopped in her tracks. Dogpaw let out a sigh of relief, followed by confusion, why would Rainfall know who the she-cat was? He had been a loner all of his life and never attended gatherings. How has Rainfall not got a scratch on himself yet?

"Rainfall, what's happening?!" Dogpaw yowled at him as soon as he'd picked his way over to her, the she-cat, Leafpaw, studied them both curiously before leaping off into the battle.

"I'll explain everything once we get away from here." Rainfall muttered under his breath, motioning to Quickclaw, who was stood, yelling at the grey tom from a few tails lengths away. Dogpaw followed him wordlessly, she would rather go with Rainfall than be stuck in a battle on the hopelessly failing losing side.

* * *

Hailpaw bolted through the forest. Everything had gone as planned. Sunstripe was dead, nobody suspected Rainfall and the other Clans had attacked ShadowClan. As he ran, the stones and twigs on the ground snagged his paws, making them prickle, Hailpaw though back to when he had been a warrior apprentice. Back to before he knew nothing of Fell and her ideas and didn't know he was a circle cat. But now he was smarter, he would follow Fell until she changed the Clans, one way or another. Fell was always right.

* * *

**Author's Note : **Sorry I've not updated in a while! Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favourites! xxx


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Rainfall led Dogpaw a long way, through RiverClan territory, then WindClan until the two of them reached a strange clearing near the twoleg farm, and Rainfall stopped.

"Fell! I am back!" He meowed. Nothing happened for a moment, then there was a rustle in the bushes, and a black she-cat emerged, she stank of disease and her fur was thick and bushy, but the most peculiar thing about her was the red eyes that glinted from her dark figure.

"Rainfall. It is good you are alive. But if I am not mistaken, is this a ShadowClan apprentice?" The she-cat mewed; her voice was grating and made Dogpaw want to scratch her ears out.

"This is Dogpaw, Hailpaw's sister. He and I request you keep her around. ShadowClan is getting destroyed, and we both think she is too valuable to let die. She's a loyal cat, and Hailpaw's kin, which amounts to something, don't you think?" Rainfall spoke easily to this strange cat, which made Dogpaw less nervous. But still more confused, what was going on?

"I will keep her around. If she proves herself one way or another, I will consider letting her live, she is Hailpaw's kin after all. I have some interesting news coming up, so we'll wait until the other cats get here to announce it. Meanwhile, your friend seems a little confused. I think you should explain the situation to her." Fell meowed, Rainfall nodded, and padded away, Dogpaw hurrying after him.

Dogpaw was relieved to be away from Fell, the cat was terrifying, she respected Rainfall more for not being afraid or intimidated by her. Then she blinked, she couldn't respect Rainfall, he could be anyone, he had probably lied to her about his past, and knew something about Sunstripe's murder.

The two cats sat down in a patch of shade under a tree, and Rainfall looked at her guiltily.

"Explain all of…_this_ to me Rainfall, because I don't understand it." Dogpaw growled.

"Fell sent ThunderClan and WindClan after ShadowClan. They know the truth of what happened to RiverClan, and they were scared she'd destroy them too."

"What's the truth behind RiverClan?" Dogpaw asked, the mystery had been in place for a long time, moons in fact. Most cats had given up on the mystery.

"I killed the cats of RiverClan." Meowed Rainfall. She could here no remorse in his voice. She didn't believe him.

"This has got to be some kind of joke! What in StarClan's name is happening?! You're all mad!" She shrieked, standing up suddenly, but Rainfall jumped in front of her.

"You don't know the whole story!" He hissed, "Sit down. _Please_!" He begged. Dogpaw glared at him, but sat down; knowing he knew those fighting moves the other medicine cats all seemed to know.

"Fell wants to recreate the Clans, she wishes to make a new generation of loyal and brave warriors. A mixture of all the Clans. In order to do that, she must eliminate the Clans to make a fair place, so she can start over." Rainfall mewed; Dogpaw shook her head in disbelief.

"There are cats, medicine cats, with powers and abilities, Fell prophesised them a long time ago, and just now they have begun popping up. She wants them to be the leaders in her new Clan, these are the medicine cats, me, Hailpaw, Quickclaw, Leafpaw and the others."

"Hailpaw is destined to rule the Clan, with you all?" Dogpaw asked, Rainfall nodded slightly.

"Basically, and I want you to rule with us." Rainfall mewed, Dogpaw stared at him.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because I love you."

* * *

Jaypaw lay on the floor; it felt like his body was on fire, like he was dying. He saw ThunderClan and WindClan ripping ShadowClan to shreds, while the cats screeched and cried, and all Jaypaw could do was watch.

Grasswhisker lay a few pawsteps away from him, dead. The deputy had gone down trying to defend Birdstar, who had only one life left, though he had failed, the leader was lying across the camp, her neck was sliced open.

"You're still alive aren't you?" A voice came behind him, a she-cat. Jaypaw turned around to see a young tortoishell cat standing over him.

"I've been told to take all survivors prisoner in WindClan camp." She meowed, she was WindClan herself, she smelled of moors and herbs, she was a medicine cat.

"Why did you attack us?" Jaypaw croaked he could hardly speak; his voice was shaky as well.

"Reasons." The she-cat mewed, "You'll find out soon enough anyway."

And with that, the she-cat grabbed his scruff and dragged Jaypaw towards his fate.

* * *

Hailpaw skidded into the clearing, Quickclaw hot on his tail, the two toms blinked at the sight. Rainfall was being stared at like he was mad by Dogpaw and Fell was watching them with an amused look. Dogpaw seemed to notice his arrival, and bounded up to him at once.

"Hailpaw, what in StarClan's name is _this_?! You've sentenced your own Clan to death, all so you can follow the plans of a weirdo with red eyes!" She hissed, Hailpaw blinked.

"I am not seeing she is loyal to us yet, Rainfall." Fell mewed, Rainfall shook his head,

"In time, I'm sure she will." He said. Dogpaw turned to glare at the tom, but it was more confused than angry.

"Well. We have a few name changes to go through before the others get here." Fell meowed, "I'm going to rename Hailpaw and Dogpaw. None of my warriors deserve the name of an apprentice."

Hailpaw nodded. A long time ago, he would have forced himself to act excited about this, leaving your apprentice name was important to Clan cats. Now Hailpaw didn't care.

"Dogpaw, because of your brutish name, I am renaming you Shadowpelt, no cat deserves to be named after a dog." Fell spat. Hailpaw glanced at Dogpaw. She looked angry, she had always been proud of her name.

"Hailpaw, from now on you will be Hailstorm!" Meowed Fell, her eyes slicing into the white tom, Hailstorm simply nodded and flicked his tail.

"This is all very nice." Meowed Rainfall. "But if you look to your left, I think you'll see an angry RiverClan she-cat."

The cats whipped their heads around, and sure enough, a cream coloured she-cat was standing at the side of the clearing, glaring at Rainfall.

"_You_!" She hissed, and leapt at the tom.

* * *

**Author's Note : **Again, sorry for not updating for a while! I've been quite busy, but I hope I'll be able to update more from now on! xxx


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Rainfall's yelp echoed around the clearing. Dogpaw blinked, trying to take in the sight in front of her.

"You traitor! How could you do this to your own Clan! I swear I'll kill you!" Screamed the cat who'd attacked Rainfall, scraping at the tom's sides and stomach.

"Traitor? I don't think you're using the right words. I was never part of RiverClan truly. Just some strange cat you took in out of fear." Rainfall was calm as he easily slid out of the she-cat's grip and bit her neck. He was about to kill her.

"Stop!" Yowled Dogpaw, her head pounding as she looked at the cat she'd thought to be her friend, maybe even more, about to kill one of the only remaining RiverClan cats.

"What?" Mumbled Rainfall, his mouth still clutching the she-cat's scruff.

"We can get answers out of her, and find out where the other RiverClan cats are. You can kill them too." Dogpaw mewed, making it up on the spot.

"Dog- I mean Shadowpelt, before you acted like you disapproved of me doing that." Rainfall meowed, dropping the cat in surprise. Dogpaw winced as he used her new name. _I'm not ever going to call myself Shadowpelt. I am Dogpaw._

"I-I was only surprised, that's all. I completely understand why you did it." Dogpaw said, lying through her teeth. The she-cat on the floor glared at her and Dogpaw tried her best to give a reassuring nod. _I'll get you out of here._

"You do?" Rainfall asked hopefully. Dogpaw nodded.

"I suppose this means we'll be keeping this cat around. I don't mind." Fell mewed, she flicked her tail at Quickclaw, who quickly rushed over to the body and dragged it to a nearby bush.

* * *

It had taken a long time to arrive at WindClan camp, but Jaypaw had finally collapsed in a pile of dry grass in the camp. There were warriors guarding him and the only other remaining ShadowClan cat, Dawnbreeze from every side, and no chance to make an escape. The camp was busy, WindClan cats were lingering around their leader, waiting for some kind of order.

"I'm guessing you want answers." Said a familiar voice, Jaypaw turned around and saw the she-cat who had brought him here. She was very pretty, her fur black with patches of brown and ginger, and her eyes were a cold green.

"I'd like answers." Jaypaw mewed, the she-cat nodded.

"Most cats around here won't have them. But I do." She meowed, Jaypaw narrowed his eyes, _why would a medicine cat apprentice know more than the other cats? _

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Of course not." The she-cat mewed, amused, "You'll find out this evening, everyone will, it'll be hilarious."

"Yeah. How funny, killing off an entire Clan. I bet it was ThunderClan and WindClan who wrecked RiverClan as well." Jaypaw growled. The she-cat shook her head.

"I know the cat who did that. He was RiverClan." She meowed. _The cat? Only one cat bunked off those fishbrains? _

"One cat?" Jaypaw asked.

"Yes. He's very strange." The she-cat cocked her head, "Why are you so interested in this? It's common knowledge."

"ShadowClan didn't know who drove out RiverClan."

"Oh. That _is_ strange." The she-cat mewed, "I forget how the other Clans viewed your Clan. Did you know they suspected your Clan to be behind all of those murders?"

"No."

"Heh." The she-cat laughed, "I'll be going now. Try not to escape, also, try and wake that useless companion of yours up, she looks half dead." Jaypaw glanced at Dawnbreeze, who was having a fitful sleep.

The she-cat padded away, nodding to the warriors guarding him as she passed. Jaypaw felt truly alone.

* * *

"Will you escape with me?" Dogpaw asked her brother. It had taken ages for her to get him alone, Quickclaw and Fell had been hovering at his side all day, not to mention that Rainfall had been trailing after her like a lost kit as well. She'd finally shaken him off after asking him to fetch her some prey.

Hailstorm shook his head, giving her a questioning look.

"Whatever they say about you, it's not true. But it's dangerous here, Hailpa- I mean Hailstorm. The Clans are in wreckage, and these cats are insane! We must leave, become loners! Anything." Hailstorm made no movement, merely stared at the ground.

"Please." Mewed Dogpaw, yet Hailstorm didn't look up, his eyes were empty, he'd changed a lot in the past few moons, and Dogpaw was certain these cats were the reason. Dogpaw glanced at the cream she-cat in a heap near the bush, a mangled mess, with large puncture wounds from where Rainfall had bitten her, _why did I even believe Rainfall's lies anyway?_

"I'll leave without you then." Hissed Dogpaw, turning on around and scurrying across the clearing. Hailstorms looked like he was about to step up and stop her, but hesitated at the last minute. Fell was nowhere to be seen, and Dogpaw crashed through the trees surrounding the area, not looking back at her brother.

_I'm alone now. I just hope nobody goes after me._


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Where's Dogpa- I mean Shadowpelt?" Rainfall hissed, Hailstorm blinked. "Oh, I forgot, you can't talk…Nod if you know where she is." Hailstorm nodded. The evening sun gave the white tom a fiery glint; his eyes were cold and emotionless.

"So you do know where she is? Take me to her!" Rainfall mewed, Hailstorm shook his head and looked away.

"Shadowpelt has gone. I knew we could not trust her." Rainfall jumped, Fell had come up from behind him.

"Are you going to go after her?" He asked. Fell shook her head.

"She is doomed anyway, I sense great danger will befall her on her journey." The black she-cat had a look of concern. Rainfall was shocked.

"I _have_ to go after her!" He growled. Fell nodded.

"If you wish, Rainfall, but not yet, in a moment, we will announce our existence to the Clans, after that, you may go after her." Rainfall gave a bitter glance to the ground.

"Okay." He said reluctantly. Fell's ears then twitched,

"The others are here." She murmured, and sure enough, Bluewish, Sandheart and Leafpaw crashed into the clearing, panting.

"Sorry we're late. Leafpaw decided to chat with some of the ShadowClan survivors." Sandheart chuckled.

"That is okay. We are ready to go now." Fell meowed, and led the way out of the clearing, brushing past trees and bushes yet making no sound. Quickclaw hurried after her, followed by the rest of the cats. Rainfall watched them all leave, before following himself.

As they hurried through the forest, Sandheart fell back to walk beside Rainfall.

"Do you have any clue about where the rest of RiverClan is? That she-cat didn't give anything away about their whereabouts did she?" Sandheart inquired.

"No. She was very persistent about not telling us anything. I should hope she'll be killed, she's useless." He mewed, indicating Voleclaw, he had tried questioning her, but she gave no answers.

"You could always try torture." Joked Sandheart.

"Maybe." Mewed Rainfall, before falling behind and letting the orange tom overtake him.

* * *

Dogpaw ran fast, dodging trees and rocks, until she saw a building in the distance. _A twolegplace, and if I'm not mistaken, that's the Horseplace._ She thought, she hastened her pace, hoping to get there quickly, and maybe shelter there for the night.

When she reached it, she was hit by the scent of smoke, it got stronger and stronger as she got closer. Finally she reached a barn, she peered inside, and was shocked.

The outside of it was fine, but the inside seemed to have been burnt black, hay was streamed everywhere, all of it crisp and dark, there was only empty space inside the barn. Yet she could still smell cat.

"And what do you think _you're _doing here, Clan cat?" A husky voice asked, Dogpaw turned around quickly and saw an old looking, brown she-cat glaring at her, a tiny mouse at her feet.

"I-I can explain." Dogpaw mewed quickly, the she-cat chuckled, not a nice chuckle, but a pitiful and domineering one.

"As if I need explanations, just be on your way." She hissed.

"But I need help!" Dogpaw blurted out, and regretted it, the she-cat grimaced at her.

"Why would I help you?"

"I don't know." Dogpaw wailed, the she-cat suddenly burst out laughing.

"You're amusing, really. Now young one, what is your name?" She asked, Dogpaw looked up in surprise.

"Um, Dogpaw." She said.

"My name is Gravel." The she-cat said, she then shoved the mouse towards Dogpaw.

"You seem to be in distress, and perhaps you are hungry?" Gravel asked, Dogpaw nodded.

"Allow me to show you my home then." Gravel mewed, picking up the mouse and steering away from the barn, Dogpaw followed quickly, pleased to see a sane cat around for once.

Gravel led her to a small twoleg den, it had a strong scent of wood, Dogpaw gasped as Gravel squeezed herself through a hole in the den, then followed suit.

The den was small, yet cosy, there was moss and plants lining a nest, and a small heap of food in the centre. _Almost like a camp! _Dogpaw thought.

"If there is something troubling the Clans, I'd be the first cat interested. I'm an ex Clan cat myself." Said Gravel, from her seat on what looked like an orange rock, but it was too oddly shaped to be a normal forest rock.

"Which Clan were you from?" Asked Dogpaw, Gravel chuckled,

"WindClan, but that's hardly the point. Tell me, what is troubling you?"

So Dogpaw told Gravel about Fell, and her group of medicine cats, and how they'd nearly killed the RiverClan she-cat, and how they'd been killing other cats and destroying Clans. She somehow trusted Gravel, the old she-cat had a wise and welcoming aura about her.

"Well," Said Gravel finally, "I have no idea what to do about the Clans, but you're welcome to stay here, as long as you like, until we can figure something out." Dogpaw blinked.

"Thank you!" She cried, relieved she had found somewhere welcoming and _safe_ to stay. So the two she-cats spoke for a while of things they could do, Gravel seeming to become more interested in the problem the more they spoke about it, until they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note : **Sorry for the long wait. Hopefully I'll be able to update sooner in the future!


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